VIZ Media

I just love looking at comics no matter what kind there are. Super Hero Comics, Manga, hieroglyphics, or anything drawn, I like to look at. I can be given a comic book in a foreign language that I can't read and still enjoy it for hours.

On a side note, when you go to book stores and look for graphic novels, there are usually different categories for them. More popular being American Comics and Manga. Then there other publishers who call their comics, Manhwa. There's also Anime which is different from Manga. Anime means cartoons. Manga is comics. Still the literal translation for Manga is "Comics". Same with Manhua, "Comics". Which makes me wonder about the other side of the world... What do people in Japan or Korea call American Comics to separate it from their own? "Comic-Book-Ka"? "Coooo-mic-KU"? "Co-MIC!"?

Anyway, all this thinking about Manga led me to take pictures of a Manga Publisher here in San Francisco. Here's some pictures of VIZ Media. They publish Manga comics such as Pokemon, Dragon Ball, Naruto, and more. Huge Building. I think there are 4 floors. I only hang out at the first floor, the rest of the floors are uncharted territory for me. I can get lost in there.
Front doors are these cool looking metal doors that looks as if it's bullet proof. I dig how the company name is right there in silver.

Going in, they have this sort of media room which looks a lot like a comic book store with lots stuff they produce. Here are some big dolls and a Manga display stand.

Towards the left, is what you'll see here. They have monitors running Anime all the time. showcasing some of the Anime they do as well.

And here's a picture towards the right. Toys, gadgets, lost of fun stuff.

Walking in closer, I see this huge wall. Almost three stories tall. With these blocks with characters in light. It's very impressive to see in person. I couldn't even take a picture of the whole thing because it's so massive.

Here's a picture of that same wall on the other size. That's me standing in the stairs. There more of those light up blocks above and below. Just can't seem to get it all in one shot.

So here's me with one of the blocks. This character is Doremon. I use to read... well... Not read because the comics were in a foreign language to me... I use to look at Doremon comics. This character would pull anything and everything out of this little pocket at his stomach. That's why I'm covering up his pocket. So he can't pull a rabbit out of it. See.. He's tickelish too!

Now here's something cool. I'm standing in front of a page. Yeap, That's one page from the Manga, Phoenix, drawn by Osamu Tezuka. It's almost three stories tall. My friend was lying on the floor to take this picture for me. It was massive. But why is this page so important, you ask? WHACK! THWACK! WHAM! THUNK! I lettered that page. I removed the Japanese text, replaced it with English, and retouched the backgrounds. My letters in lights... Sorta.

Going towards the back of the building, I see this on the back wall. Posters, prints, and original art all in one place. Again, VIZ is a huge place, so I just took pictures of the areas I hung out at.

Here's a framed piece of original art I see all the time. All done by hand. Painted too. I don't know who the artist is and for which title it's for. Just really cool to look at. Man... There's that flash reflection effect on the boobie area again. What's up with that?And here's a piece of original art that everyone will recognize. A piece of Pokemon original art from the artist. Drawn and colored by hand. It cracks me up because it's thumb tacked to the wall. I can't read the writing, so I don't know what it says. I just like looking at it. I can stare at this for hours.

So that's it for VIZ Media. Speaking of Pokemon. Here's a couple of pictures I took from SDCC. Here's Pikachu stomach. This was hanging in the middle of the convention. I like how SDCC has things for all age groups. This hanging Pokemon were for kids... This Pokemon was for Adults... I don't remember Pikachu wearing stocking with red bows on it.

Mommies and Daddies would have their five year old child turn away when they see this Pikachu. And here I thought Pokemon was for all ages.